Subhash Ghai has ended his four-year hiatus with a 'sweet' surprise. The girl who makes her debut with his next, Kaanchi, is a lighteyed newcomer called Mishti. Her name in Bengali simply means sweet.

Unveiling his new find for Mumbai Mirror, Ghai put an end to all the speculation over his heroine. Made on a budget of Rs 35 crores, Kaanchi is said to be one of his most expensive and ambitious ventures, other than Yuvraaj, which failed at the box office.

When Mirror caught up with him at his Goregaon office late on Tuesday, Ghai cleared the ‘misconception’ that he likes to rename his heroines. “I only renamed Mahima, as her real name is Ritu and at that time there was another actress of the same name. Mishti is from Kolkata, and she is 21 years old,” he said.

Apparently, the search for Kaanchi has been a long and tough one. Ghai said: “More than 240 girls auditioned for the role but most were devoid of talent. The ones who were talented were not good looking.” Luck finally smiled on him when one of his assistants recommended Mishti, who had been trying her luck in films and ads.

“I liked her pictures and decided to call her to Mumbai. We made her go through various screen tests for six days. I must say she came out with flying colours. She is an actress of Kajol’s calibre,” he said with just a hint of pride.

The film is scheduled to go on floors on February 18 and with so little time left, Mishti is already taking extensive training in acting, speech, dancing and martial arts.

Kartik Tiwari, who has played the lead in Kumar Mangat’s soon-to-be-released Akaash Vani, will play the male lead opposite Mishti. “I didn’t audition Kartik. I knew he holds promise,” said the director who has logged 14 hits out of 18 he has made till date.

Asked about his fascination with newcomers Ghai said, with some bitterness, “I don’t want to beg for dates. Recently, one established heroine wrote to me saying she wanted to work with me but demanded I tell him the name of the hero she would be cast with. I am not interested in working with such people who do not have faith in the director and his subject. I want to work with actors who have full faith in me and are passionate about their work. Did I not make Ram Lakhan with Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff when they had four flops behind them?”

However, Ghai's next film, which he will start in 2014, stars Salman Khan and according to him it is because he treats Salman as family. “He has immense respect for me and I appreciate the fact that he is not affected by hits and flops. When I offered him the film six months ago, he agreed immediately. Another actor with a golden heart is Jackie Shroff,” said Ghai.

Kaanchi is set to tune by Ismail Darbar and Salim Suleiman and is a story of an innocent girl from Uttarakhand whose father, an ex-army man, gets shot. This event turns her life upside down and after a certain point she refuses to be the victim and stands up to fight her way out and emerges a winner.